Former Minister of Education Prof. Tunde Adeniran has announced his departure from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), alongside his supporters. Adeniran’s defection highlights growing discontent within the PDP, particularly regarding issues of internal democracy and candidate imposition.
In a conversation with our correspondent in Abuja on Saturday, Adeniran expressed his frustrations regarding the PDP’s lack of internal democratic processes. “I have left the PDP for the SDP with my supporters. I left because there is no internal democracy in the PDP,” he stated. Adeniran also revealed that Prof. Jerry Gana, a notable figure and member of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, would be joining him in the SDP.
The former minister had previously sought the chairmanship of the PDP during the party’s national convention on December 9, where he enjoyed Gana’s firm support. Following his electoral defeat, Adeniran has distanced himself from the PDP.
When asked about the speculation surrounding Gana possibly being the presidential candidate for the SDP in the 2019 elections, Adeniran clarified, “Whoever will be the presidential candidate will emerge from our convention.”
Adeniran also addressed his aspirations within the SDP, clarifying that he is not currently pursuing any chairmanship ambitions in his new party.
Reacting to Adeniran’s defection, PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus expressed disappointment, describing the exit as painful. Secondus acknowledged Adeniran’s contributions as a founding father of the party and expressed hope that he would remain to help rebuild the PDP for a potential challenge against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Meanwhile, two other prominent PDP figures, former Minister of Niger Delta Godsday Orubebe and former Chief of Staff to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Mike Oghiadomhe, have publicly denied any plans to leave the PDP. Orubebe’s spokesperson asserted that he remains a committed member of the PDP, while Oghiadomhe stated, “For the record, I was never part of any group where a decision was made to dump PDP for SDP. My membership and loyalty are to the PDP alone.”
He further added, “Whoever must have affiliated my name to any political party other than the PDP does not have my mandate, and this should be regarded as the handiwork of mischief makers. The PDP is my party of choice since its formation.”
Efforts to obtain a comment from Gana regarding Adeniran’s claims were unsuccessful, as he had not responded to messages at the time of this report.
